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SPORTS

N.C. A&T needs OT to end skid

Wednesday, January 4, 2012
(Updated 7:16 am)

— Nic Simpson opened overtime Tuesday with four of his game-high 21 points to lead N.C. A&T to an 85-76 win over Carver College, ending an eight-game losing streak.

"It takes a long time to get those losses out of your system," Aggies head coach Jerry Eaves said. "When you come off the road after losing seven or eight in a row, the mindset is not winning. I don't care who you are. It's very important to schedule these games so you can get the winning edge back on your shoulders before you go into the conference. This is nothing new for us. We normally start the New Year slow before we get it going."

Carver, a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association whose campus in in Atlanta, falls to 9-12.

It was the Aggies' first home game since Nov. 25. All eight of those losses came on the road.

A&T (5-11) felt at home in the opening minutes, going on an 8-0 run in the first 2:41.

But after the Aggies took a 16-9 lead, Carver scored the next 12 points. Derek Douglas put an exclamation mark on the run with a 3-pointer

A sure thing really started to look shaky at the 8:51 mark of the second half. A 3-pointer by guard Sean Stringfellowe gave the Cougars a 59-48 lead. Seconds later, the referee's whistle blew as Austin Witter and Jovon Moses were battling for position. Moses was called for the foul before making his situation worse by complaining to the official. Moses was whistled for a technical foul, giving the Aggies a bundle of free throws.

The Aggies hit five free throws on one trip without the clocking moving and cut the Cougars' lead to six. Hill followed with a 3-pointer, and after a Powell free throw cut the lead to one, Witter followed his own miss to tie the score at 59 with 6:23 to play.

The Aggies were able to expand that lead to four with 2:38 to play in regulation, but a Joshua Brown jumper and a Joe Comer layup sent the game into overtime tied at 69.

The game turned in the Aggies' favor when Witter took a pass from Marc Hill and made a 3-pointer with 3:31 remaining in overtime to give the Aggies a 76-71 lead. But even that was sullied when Witter was hit with his second technical foul for taunting.

The Cougars didn't capitalize on the technical, and the Aggies put away the game on consecutive dunks by R.J. Buck and Adrian Powell in the final minute.

Witter finished with his second career double-double, scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 rebounds (four offensive).

CARVER BIBLE COLLEGE (9-12)

Comer 3-8 2-4 8, Mack 1-7 0-2 2, Moses 2-7 3-9 7, Brown 5-13 5-8 15, Bratton 3-6 0-0 6, Davis 1-1 0-0 2, Parks 5-19 0-0 10, Stringfellow 1-4 0-1 3, Douglas 4-7 1-2 11, Hood 4-7 2-4 12. Totals 29-79 13-30 76.

N.C. A&T (5-11)

L. Smith 1-2 2-2 4, Powell 3-6 3-6 9, Upchurch 2-2 0-0 4, Hill 3-14 3-6 10, Witter 5-8 5-8 17, Underwood 2-5 0-0 5, Simpson 5-11 11-13 21, Behonh-Tolly 0-0 1-3 1, Louisme 0-1 0-0 0, Buck 4-5 2-5 10, Estes 2-2 0-0 4, Siverand 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-56 27-43 85.

Halftime—Carver 37-29.

End of regulation—Tied 69.

Percentages—Carver (FG .367, FT .433), N.C. A&T (FG .482, FT .628).

3-point goals—Carver 5-23 (Hood 2-2, Douglas 2-4, Stringfellow 1-4, Moses 0-1, Brown 0-2, Bratton 0-2, Parks 0-8), N.C. A&T 4-19 (Witter 2-4, Underwood 1-4, Hill 1-4, Louisme 0-1, Powell 0-1, Simpson 0-5).

Fouled out—Brown, Hood, Mack, L. Smith.

Rebounds—Carver 43 (Moses 7), N.C. A&T 54 (Witter 11).

Team rebounds—Carver 6, N.C. A&T 6.

Assists—Carver 11 (Parks 4), N.C. A&T 10 (Hill 5).

Blocked shots—Carver 2 (Davis, Hood), N.C. A&T 6 (Witter 3).

Turnovers—Carver 13 (Brown 3, Comer 3), N.C. A&T 25 (Hill 5, Underwood 5).

Steals—Carver 11 (Bratton 3), N.C. A&T 5 (Witter 2, Underwood 2).

Total fouls—Carver 32, N.C. A&T 22.

Technical—Moses.

A—907.

Officials—Leslie Jones, Raymond Payne, Darrius Stone.

Accompanying Photos

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